In These Moments
by aversive5599
Summary: A series of one shots for Sasusaku month 2017.
1. Chapter 1

**Prompt: First Love, Sasusaku Month Day One**

 **Summary: When Sasuke and Sakura realise who their daughters first love was and in the process find out about eachothers. (Post Gaiden)**

"I think Sarada has a crush on Boruto."

Sasuke has always taken pride in being a careful person, he's rarely the kind to let things fall from his only hand and even if on the off chance something does, his reflexes are fast enough for him to catch the item before it hits the ground.  
But when Sakura walks into their house after a long shift at the hospital to make one of the most ludicrous announcements he's heard in a while he can't help but drop the stirring spoon he held in his hands.

" _What_?"

His voice is silent and deadly. On a normal mission it's enough to paralyze whoever is on the receiving end in terror but Sakura simply laughs it off, her husband hardly looks threatening in his his homely blue apron which matches the head band that thier daughter had helped him tie to keep the hair out of his face.

"I'm going to kill him."

"Oh darling I think you're over reacting." Sakura states as she wraps her arms around his waist and stands on her tip toes so that she can peer over his shoulders to see what he's making (it's Sarada's favourite sweet dish) "I think it's cute that he's her first love."  
Sasuke sighs, his immediate plans of killing a certain blonde haired idiot (No, not _that_ one, his son) subsiding.

It's easy to give into his wife in moments like these when they are alone. He knows she's tired, the soft yawn she tries to stiffle as she presses her cheek to his back is a testament to that.

Sasuke doesn't have the heart to break out of her grip for he knows that at times like these when Sakura is tired, chakra depleted and cold he's her favourite pillow.

He'd never admit it out loud but he was quite proud of that particular designation.

Plus it's not like he'd actually be able to wriggle out of her embrace considering her ungodly strength.

Besides the more time he's given to think, the more painful he can make that moronic brat's death.

He suppose Sarada would be mad at him for the first couple of days but he was sure she'd get over it after he taught her a new jutsu.

Sakura hums softly as he stands there letting his brief spike of anger simmer down along with syrup he's stirring to her soft tune. It's a lullaby she's humming, one that he'd sung once to her during her pregnancy days when she had trouble sleeping. It's the same one Itachi used to sing when he was a child and it's calming effect still holds true after all these years.

"Darling." Sakura starts,"Who was your first love?"

Sasuke blinks, all his creative plans to kill Boruto brought to a abrupt stop by her sudden query.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke's voice is harsher than he means it to be and while he tries to convince it's because something is stuck in his throat he is well aware that it's just an excuse to cover up the fact that he's the slightest bit hurt that even after all these years the answer is still a mystery to Sakura.

"Oh!" She says jerking away from him, her hands falling away as she steps back. Wide veridian eyes stare back at him as he turns around to face her, irritated that she let go.

For a moment she stands there still before she starts stuttering out,"I-I'm sorry. I didn't realise. I didn't mean to pry- I was just curious and-"

"Sakura." He interrupts,"What are you talking about?"

She blinks,"Your first love, she was an Uchiha wasn't she? I'm sorry I didn't mean-"

"What gave you that idea?"

She blinks up at him. Even after all these years there are some insecurities she can't shake off. It this habit of hers that bothers him the most, maybe because every time she displays her unsurity about their relationship Sasuke is overcome with a tidal wave of self loathing for he knows that all her insecurities stem from the fact that he'd treated her like crap through out the course of their childhood.

"I just thought-" she sighs breaking off,"Never mind."

"Tch. Annoying."

She lowers her head,"You're right that was a stupid."

He lets his lips curve into a small smile, amused by her reaction. For some reason he never gets tired seeing her like this; embarrassed and shy.

It's one of the more contrasting things about his wife because while she's one of the strongest people he knows, nothing less than deadly in battle, she's also one of the kindest. As a kid he never believed one could be both, strong _and_ kind but in the past fifteen years of their marriage Sakura has spent everyday of it proving him wrong.

While she's kind to everyone she meets, this side of her, the one where she's shy and unsure is reserved only for Sasuke and he isn't ashamed to admit that, that's just how he likes it.

And that's why he loves teasing her at times like these because he's the _only_ one who can and get away with it.

"Who was your first love?" He asks nonchalantly.

Sakura looks up at him incredulously.

"What?" She asks," Is this a joke?"

Sasuke simply shrugs as he turns away from her to add the finishing touches to his dish.

Her eyes are defiant as she pokes her head into his line of sight,"I've loved you since we were five years old I'll have you know. It might have been a superficial crush at first but I've only ever liked you."

"Only me?" Sasuke says as he pours the contents into a bowl,"That's hard to believe."

Her eyes narrow,"If not you, then who? It's only _ever_ been you."

"Not even Lee when he saved you during the Chunnin exams?"

"No." She replies,"And if you recall I hugged _you_ then and not him."

"Not even Naruto when you kissed him?"

"That was CPR by the way." She counters,"And _you_ kissed him too. Twice."

"Kakashi?"

"Are you kidding me?" She started,"That's ridiculous."

"Sai?"

"Where are these names even coming from?" She huffs," This is-"

Before she can finish, Sasuke quickly bends down and brushes his lips against hers shocking her into silence. It's an awfully short kiss and when Sasuke pulls back he smiles as he looks down at his wife's closed eyes and puckered lips.

"For the record you were the first and only person I've ever loved." Sasuke states.

Her eyes flutter open and she stares at him confused for a moment before her mouth forms an 'oh'. Then her questions begin,"Really? How? When? I thoug-"

"Sakura." He cuts her off giving her a look.

"Right. I'll shut up."

"Good, then it's easier to do this." He leans down and kisses her tips of his fingers graze against her skin as he cups her cheeks and lifts her face towards him his lips moving against hers effortlessly.

While Sasuke is a reserved man, there is absolutely nothing reserved about his kisses.  
Sakura still remembers the first time Sasuke had kissed her she'd felt all her unsurity about their relationship melt away. While his kisses are commanding, they're all consuming and absolutely and completely honest. He leaves no room for her to doubt his feelings for her because the way he kisses her always makes her feel like he's laying his soul bare for her to see. _Only_ her to see.

Because in the end for both Sasuke and Sakura it had only ever been each other since the very begining.

Sakura is about to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him closer to deepen their kiss but Sasuke abruptly breaks away once again leaving her hanging.

Sakura pouts as Sasuke starts walking towards the living room. She can't see the smirk on his face but she knows that he's thoroughly enjoying messing with her.

"You don't play fair." She grumbles as she follows Sasuke.

He sits on the couch and gently pats his lap. Sakura happily bounds towards him, her complains forgotten and takes her place on the couch by lying across it with her head resting on his lap.

They stay like that for a while as Sasuke reads a scroll regarding the latest details of his mission and Sakura stares up at him carefully memorizing all the details of his face for she knows that when he's gone it's these moments she'll cherish the most.

"You know we both married each other's first love." Sakura comments offhandedly,"Do you think Sarada will do the same?"

"The brat won't live long enough."

Sakura snorts,"You're not going to kill him, Naruto will never let you hear the end of it if you do."

"I can handle the dobe."

"You've been trying to get rid of him for eighteen years now, how's that working out for you?"

"Tch."

"If you actually consider it, it's kind of cute really." Sakura continues,"Naruto and Hinata's son with our daughter. Plus Sarada is really open about her feelings too. I thought she'd be like you and be in denial about it for at least five years."

"I was not in denial about it."

"If I was your first love that means you must have loved me since we were genin, right?" Sakura prompts,"And you were pretty much an ice cube those days."

"I wasn't in denial, I just didn't show it."

"So you _were_ in love with me since we were genin."

"Sakura."

"Okay fine, I'll drop it." Sakura relents,"So anyway today I heard her and Choucho talking about Boruto and that's how I gussed. They were fawning over how his blonde hair catches the sun rays perfectly and-"

Change of plans, Sasuke was going to first torture the brat and then kill him.

"- just how mature and responsible he is-"

When did he brat become mature and responsible? Just the other day he remembered his daughter complaining how childish and careless the dobe's son was.  
"- how his blue eyes pop perfectly against his white clothes and-"

Sakura stopped abruptly when she saw the look on Sasuke's face.

"What's wrong?"she asks lifting herself up from his lap and turning around to face him properly.

"The brat kid only wears black." Sasuke deadpans,"His training clothes are black and pink."

"Then….." Sakura trails off as realisation dawns on her.

For a moment they stare at each other, green against mismatched black and purple.

The next second Sakura is up and Sasuke is right behind her, heading for the door.

"I'm going to kill the dobe." He mutters poisonously as he opens the door.

Sakura marches past him,"Not if I get to him first."

All the way across town in the Hokage's office, Naruto sneezed.

 _I'll be honest I really want to see Sasuke appear in the Hokage's office with his apron and matching headband and beat the hell out of Naruto with his stirring spoon._


	2. Chapter 2

**Prompt: Blood, Sweat and Tears and Something More, Sasusaku Month 2017, Day 2 and Day 5**

 **Summary: The moment when Sasuke realises just how beautiful Sakura really is.  
(Set during the Chunnin Exams after the attack by the Sound genin Team.)**

It was only after the entire crowd cleared from the gathering did Sasuke let himself scan Sakura up and down.

She was currently busy telling Naruto to shut up as he relentlessly pestered her on to fill him in on the things that had occurred while the hyperactive ninja had been knocked out.

Naruto was particularly incessant on knowing about Sakura's sudden change in hair style and it irritated Sasuke to no end. She was clearly injured and yet all the idiot could think about was her hair.

The other teams had left a while back, they'd cleared off fairly quickly with the Hyuuga's team being the first to leave and after a sharp look from Sasuke's side the other rookie team had followed suit even though the blonde girl had been reluctant to walk away.

They were scared of him and rightly so because even Sasuke didn't quite understand what had happened. Being ignorant was something Sasuke wasn't used to and he'd never admit it out loud but his behaviour had scared him too.

Naruto was blissfully unaware of his predicament and Sakura….

Sakura had been scared too. He'd seen the fear in her eyes when she'd just barely managed to stop him. His sharingan had etched every detail of her expression at that time into his mind.

It had been the shock, the shock of seeing Sakura- _Sakura_ terrified of him that had brought him back from the edge of slipping away entirely.

"Sakura where are you hurt?" Sasuke asked quietly interrupting his teammates conversation. He'd noticed how Sakura had sunk to the ground the minute the Yamanaka girl had left as if she'd been holding herself up just for show.

"Oh I'm fine Sasuke-kun!" She said brightly turning her attention from Naruto with a wide smile,"Don't worry."

Sasuke's eyebrow arched up at her lie. Even though she looked marginally better than when he'd woken up that wasn't saying much. Her hands were strategically clasped behind her back and one of her eyes had more or less swollen shut due to a large bloody cut above it. She was pale and bloody and if he looked closely he could see that Sakura was still shaking.

"Naruto go get water." Sasuke ordered picking himself up. Sasuke wasn't particularly steady on his feet yet and the mark on his shoulder ached sending faint pulses up his neck.

"Sasuke-kun you shouldn't stand-"

"Sakura shut up." His voice cut her off abruptly. He didn't have the time or the energy to deal with Sakura's uneeded concern for him. Right now she was the priority.

"Teme what do you think you're doing?" Naruto got up yelling at the Uchiha,"Don't be so rude to Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto water _now."_

Something in Sasuke's tone must have gotten through to the blonde boy because he abruptly got up with a pout on his face and marched into the forest.

Sasuke silently stalked towards their supplies. From the corner of his eye he could see Sakura struggling to get up. Her arms were now on full display, sporting multiple bloody cuts as if she'd been stabbed by a kunai.

Sasuke flinched despite himself.

He'd figured as much when he'd noticed there was blood all over his shirt which couldn't have possibly been his considering the stellar job Sakura had done wrapping up all the wounds he'd sustained while fighting against Orochimaru.

The blood must have gotten on his shirt when she'd wrapped her arms around him.

He quickly turned around focusing on getting their medical supplies out as he felt his cheeks heat up at the memory.

His expression darkened quickly enough as he remembered his total loss of control. He was an Uchiha not some toy of a man who had his own ulterior motives. Even if the power offered to him was unbelievably tempting it meant nothing to Sasuke- _nothing_ if he had to see that look of absolute horror in Sakura's eyes when she'd realised just how close he'd been to truly becoming a monster.

Sakura had always smelt like her namesake, like cherry blossoms and looked at him like she was the single bright star in an otherwise moonless night.

He'd never really cared for either of those attributes until the moment she'd wrapped her arms around him, her expression terrified and desperate.

 _Stop_ , she'd begged him, _Please just stop._

She had been bloody and had been shaking as she clung onto him. Her arms had anchored him back to himself but for one terrifying moment Sasuke had considered batting her away.

He'd returned to himself the very next second and he'd pushed the dark writhing power inside him as far away from himself as he possibly could.

For at that moment he'd had the choice between the power he'd always wanted, no _needed_ for his revenge and Sakura.

He'd made the decision without even thinking because up until then he'd never truly realised just how much he'd relied on Sakura and her never changing belief in him.

"Sasuke-kun are you alright?" Sakura had managed to make her way next to him, the same forced smile plastered on her face.

Sasuke supressed the urge to snap at her. She was the one who was bloody, bruised and barely standing and yet she was concerned about him.

 _Why was she so goddamn annoying all the time?_

 _Why was she trying to hide the fact that she was afraid of him?_

"Sit." He she agreed, even if it was probably because she barely had any energy left to stand.

Sasuke followed suit and bent forward to asses the cut above her eye. He had to clean it before it got infectious.

"It's okay Sasuke-kun." She reached to take the cloth out of his hand but Sasuke brushed her away.

"Sakura stop being annoying."

Her hand dropped down and he sighed.

Sasuke sometimes wished he was gentler with her but life hadn't given him enough chances to be gentle and he'd long forgotten how.

He poured water on the clean cloth so that he could start with wiping her face. He carefully ran the cold cloth down the shallow scrapes on her cheeks to the small bloody cut at the corner of her mouth. She sat there absolutely still as he moved in a little closer to gently clean the cut above her swollen eye.

He brushed her hair out of her eyes as he continued to work. He paused after he was done his eyes flitting towards her dull choppy hair and the blood that stained it.

 _This was all his fault. If he'd just-_

"Sasuke-kun?" Her voice brought him back and realising how he was vacantly staring at her and he pulled back immediately jostling Sakura's leg in the process which made her cry out loudly in pain.

For some reason Sasuke felt like he'd been stabbed.

"What's wrong?" He asked his voice tinged with the slightest trace of panic.

"My leg hurts a little." She conceeded," It's noth-"

"Where?" Sasuke demanded, his voice leaving no room for her to protest.

She stretched her leg out wincing slightly as he inspected it. Her right leg was a bloody mess that she'd purposefully covered with her long dress and the cut a few inches above her knee was worryingly deep.

She'd managed to keep quiet about it the entire time and then had the audacity to worriedly hover around him asking if _he_ was alright.

He barely managed to restrain himself from shouting at her for being careless and just so- _so goddamn stupid._

What the hell was she thinking picking a fight with ninjas clearly out of her league? She should have run away screw him and the idiot.

 _No_ she shouldn't have run away instead she should have happily handed Sasuke over to them, after all he'd been what they had wanted. Instead she'd foolishly chosen to protect him all alone against three ninjas who were obviously far stronger than she was.

When had Sakura become so goddamn insufferable?

He forced himself to calm down, the mark on his neck was pulsating dangerously. Getting mad at Sakura would do him little good especially since he very knew it would be pointless.

After all if there was one thing that Kakashi had taught all three of them it was that loyalty to their team came first.

He forced himself to focus on the wound on her leg considering his options. He'd have to use the last of their water and cleaning it would be a painful process so it would be best to keep her distracted while he got to it.

His eyes snapped up to meet hers,"Tell me what happened when I was unconscious."

The hesitation was clear in Sakura's eyes and it was justified considering that even Sasuke couldn't give her the guarantee that if she actually recounted the tale of how those bastards had hurt her that he wouldn't go on a rampage and actually finish the job.

None the less she started recounting the events that had occurred as he began working.

"Orochimaru disappeared after he bit you. Those marks appeared near your neck and you collapsed."

He vaguely recalled he'd held her hand as if his life had depended on it until he'd finally lost consciousness. The last thing he remembered was seeing Sakura's worried face hovering above his and thinking that there were worse ways to die.

"I brought you and Naruto here as quickly as I could." Sakura continued,"I set up a few traps and-"

She broke off wincing and Sasuke quickly moved his hand cursing himself for not being more careful.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly,"Go on."

"Naruto wasn't hurt, I think he was just put into some sort of deep sleep. Your fever was pretty bad and your breathing was shallow. I-I thought-"

Her voice wavered but she did her best to hide it as she continued,"The sound genin attacked at dawn. Thankfully Lee-san appeared and….."

His grip on the cloth tightened as she recounted in detail how brave Rock Lee had been while defending her even if he had been defeated in the end. When he heard her say that seeing Lee stand up for her had inspired her to fight the mark on his neck flared dangerously and he had to focus all his energy on it so that he didn't lose control.

"….. but I got caught in the end and the only way I could escape was to cut my hair. That's why it looks like such a probably don't like it- Ino told me you like girls with long hair but it was the only thing I could think of. I'm sure if you'd been there you'd have easily defeated them Sasuke-kun. I'm sorry that in the end I was still pretty much useless and I wasn't-"

"Sakura." He cut her rambling off. He finished tying the cleanest cloth he could find around her leg before looking up at her. She stared back at him absolutely still.

"You did well Sakura."

Her eyes widened.

"I did?" Her voice was small but the desperation in it was clear. She needed this, _needed_ to be told that she hadn't been useless, that she hadn't just been a burden to them.

Sasuke let the smallest of smiles on his face, "Aa."

For a moment they stayed like that, staring at each other, unbreakable onyx against glassy jade.

And before he could stop it Sakura had already leapt forward wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder.

"I was so scared!" She sobbed,"I thought you were going to die. That I wouldn't be able to do anything. I was so scared that I'd lose you to that monster. I was so _so_ scared Sasuke-kun!"

She wailed hiccuping and clutching onto Sasuke as tightly as she could and all he could do was stare down at her pale pink hair with his back against the wall.

It was only then, at that moment did Sasuke realise that she wasn't afraid of him. She was afraid of _losing_ him.

Despite everything, despite the monster he'd become she was still just scared _for_ him, not of him.

For the first time in a very long time did Sasuke uncharacteristically find himself wanting to return her affections.

To convince her that he was worth the unwavering belief she had in him.

He raised his hands to hold her closer, to tell her it was alright and that she'd saved him, perhaps for the hundredth time in a way that nobody else could, but the image of those very hands mercilessly breaking the sound genin' s arms flashed through Sasuke's head and he quickly dropped them to his sides.

Sakura may not have been scared of him but he was plenty scared of himself. He couldn't afford to lose control especially not when there was a chance he'd hurt Sakura.

He could barely stand seeing Sakura bleeding and the thought of having her blood on his hands was absolutely revolting as it was unthinkable.

He would _never_ hurt Sakura.  
He would never let her get hurt, not if he could help it.

He was well aware that he cared for Sakura in a way he thought he'd never be able to after the massacre.

Because somehow stubborn, _annoying_ Sakura had inevitably become a part of him that made him _something more_ than just an avenger.

If he ever hurt her, if he ever raised his hand to injure her, it's the day he would know without a shred of doubt that there was absolutely nothing left for him except his revenge and his hatred.

When Sakura finally pulled back from him she gave him a wide smile, her eyes still glassy.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun." She whispered softly.

Her usually shiny long pink hair hung limply in a choppy mess lined with sweat and dirt. Her clothes were bloody and one of her eyes was bruised and almost completely swollen shut. Tear tracks ran down her cheeks which was littered with various scratches.

Sakura was a mess.  
A mess of blood, sweat and tears.

And yet it was at that moment Sasuke realised for the first time just how _beautiful_ Sakura really was.


End file.
